'The Cape' shows that great power comes with great responsibility for more than just Super-Man

One of the most memorable statements to be uttered in comics is often attributed to Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben in an early issue of Spider-Man: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

This statement about human nature applies to other comic characters besides the young Peter Parker.

Originally released in 2010, Joe Hill’s one shot “The Cape” is an adaptation of a short fiction piece he had written for a his collection “20th Century Ghosts.”

This story told the tale of Eric, a not-good-for-much guy who has stumbled onto something that has given him great power and which he uses solely to his advantage.

To say that Eric becomes a villain is an oversimplification, but it is clear from the new miniseries that Hill and fellow writer Jason Ciaramella are doing far more than creating a super-powered bad guy.

Hill has established a central character motivated by unfortunate incidents in his past he can’t seem to let go of.

While this is something many people deal with every day of their lives, those people don’t happen to have a tattered old bath towel that inexplicably gives them powers similar to those of an A-level superhero or in this case, super villain.

As the first issue of the new series unfolds, we witness the things that led Eric down his dark path.

This is not about the grand ego of a villain, but the wounded pride of a petty man who has been given his share of the short end of the stick.

By the end of the first issue, there seems to be no protagonist and those most likely to have an influence, such as Eric’s mother, seem unable to bring themselves to confront him.

This comic can be read as a character study of a man with the ability to do anything he wants, and dreams that only go so far as proving he is the biggest bully on the block and no one will ever take his lunch money from him again.

The truth is that despite his great power, Eric is driven by fear and fear can make some people more dangerous than the most valiant superhero.